Creating Project Templates for Media Management
We talk about it all the time; media management and organization. Still, with some, it just doesn't seem to sink in. We all want to become more efficient editors, but we're just wasting time by not having our media organized. So let me give you a different spin today on organizing your media, but without ANY media at all. Creating a project template in the Finder.Do this BEFORE ever opening Final Cut Pro, or capturing any video.
Start out by creating a new folder called Project Template, then create subfolders inside it such as Video, Audio, Stills, Graphics.
Now create folders inside your subfolders, for example, under Audio,
you might have, a folder for music, sound effects, and voiceovers.
I'll
use an example for Wedding Videographers; under the Video folder, you
might have folders for Ceremony, Reception, & Extras, and you can
see how I've broken those folders down into more subfolders.
You can even color-code it all by right clicking on the folders and assigning it a color label.
Once you have a Project Template Folder created the way you want it, you can save it, and anytime you're ready to start a new project, you can right-click on your Project Template and click on Duplicate; now you have a copy of your template, which you can rename the name of your project, for example, "Smith Wedding". Now you can sort your assets into your subfolders. Again, this goes with a little preplanning. Before you even launch Final Cut Pro, you want to think about music you want to use, still photos you want to use, and subclips you want to create. Once you have populated the subfolders of your project folder, then you can import it into Final Cut Pro. Any empty folders you might have will not import, so there's no need to worry about deleting them.
You can also copy the Project Folder template you create, save your Project File to that folder, and then transfer the contents of that Project Folder into the folder that Capturing creates. Any captured video (thru Log & Capture or Log & Transfer) will be placed into the base level of your Project Folder, and it will be your responsibility to sort them into the individual sub folders of the Video folder in your Project Folder. Personally, I make it the first thing I do within a project to subclip, rename and sort into the subfolders after capturing. I believe spending quality time in the Finder will actually make things go alot quicker by the time you're ready to start your rough edit.
Another great tip: Leave Finder open to your Project Folder in the background. A good 2-monitor configuration will encourage you to the use the Finder appropriately.
Remember, it's all about saving time and being more efficient; if you create a template of what your A-typical project folder will look like, and always start with that, your life will become much easier!
I'll
use an example for Wedding Videographers; under the Video folder, you
might have folders for Ceremony, Reception, & Extras, and you can
see how I've broken those folders down into more subfolders.You can even color-code it all by right clicking on the folders and assigning it a color label.
Once you have a Project Template Folder created the way you want it, you can save it, and anytime you're ready to start a new project, you can right-click on your Project Template and click on Duplicate; now you have a copy of your template, which you can rename the name of your project, for example, "Smith Wedding". Now you can sort your assets into your subfolders. Again, this goes with a little preplanning. Before you even launch Final Cut Pro, you want to think about music you want to use, still photos you want to use, and subclips you want to create. Once you have populated the subfolders of your project folder, then you can import it into Final Cut Pro. Any empty folders you might have will not import, so there's no need to worry about deleting them.
You can also copy the Project Folder template you create, save your Project File to that folder, and then transfer the contents of that Project Folder into the folder that Capturing creates. Any captured video (thru Log & Capture or Log & Transfer) will be placed into the base level of your Project Folder, and it will be your responsibility to sort them into the individual sub folders of the Video folder in your Project Folder. Personally, I make it the first thing I do within a project to subclip, rename and sort into the subfolders after capturing. I believe spending quality time in the Finder will actually make things go alot quicker by the time you're ready to start your rough edit.
Another great tip: Leave Finder open to your Project Folder in the background. A good 2-monitor configuration will encourage you to the use the Finder appropriately.
Remember, it's all about saving time and being more efficient; if you create a template of what your A-typical project folder will look like, and always start with that, your life will become much easier!
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